Throw traditional poker strategy out the window when playing Poker Night at the Inventory! After just 8 hours of play per my steam account page (actually more like 4 hours playing and a bunch of hours idling while doing other stuff) I was able to find weaknesses in all of the characters poker styles and capitalize on them.

Having won all of the TF2 items and achieving 12 of the 17 achievements I have decided to let you in on my winning strategy.

The Basics

This ain’t pokerstars.com! You are playing against the computer not humans. Bluffing in it’s traditional sense won’t work however playing bad cards is not a bad idea.

• Early in the game when the blinds are small, stay in. Don’t worry about your cards as it almost doesn’t mater.
• Call small bets – although the amount of the bet may not dictate the quality of the cards the competition has calling gives you a shot at catching a pair or even winning with an ace.
• Win big early by raising a pre-flop raise! If you have good cards [an ace and anything higher than an 8, high suited connectors (9-10 of the same suite) or a pair] raise small bets. It is very common to see one of our competitors raise and then upon being re-raised, fold. But if he does call don’t worry you have decent cards and the odds are goo that he doesn’t.
• Raise post flop with decent cards. Once you get to the flop and someone raises, re-raise. It doesn’t matter if you have nothing but an ace you will either win or the pot will build for a hopeful showdown.
• Over bet with a good hand. If you are holding a pair of 10’s and a 10 flops take a chance! Many of my showdowns came when I went all in with a small straight or trips. Going against the rules of poker one of your competitors may call your all in with crap. I don’t suggest this if you are the short stack and are playing for the Heavys’ “Iron Curtain” but if you have a lot of chips take the chance.
• Impose your will – When you are the big stack raise them to death! Good cards=big raise. This consistently won me BIG pots. Remember they are not real players and will call or sometimes re-raise with crap.

If you’re playing primarily to win the TF2 unlock-able items then wait for the game to start and if the Heavy, Strongbad, Max or  Tycho don’t offer up their item due to lack of funds simply exit the game and start again. I’m not sure if this works the first couple of rounds as I played a couple of games first but after a few games it seems as though every 1-3 reloads had me playing for an unlock-able weapon.

You could even go so far as to go all in on the first hand. If you fail, re-start. Your stats won’t be all that great but then again who cares if you get the items. I chose to play it somewhat like a real poker game and use the strategies above and it worked very well.

Being somewhat of an achievement freak I am going to play until I unlock the rest of the achievements but at that point, unless more commentary is added I will be bored of both the game and the table talk.

Good luck and if you found a similar or better strategy don’t be shy. Post it!

Finally! Poker Night at the Inventory has released!
It was a bit sooner than the steam timer was showing but I’m not complaining!

Here’s our first review of Poker Night at the Inventory. Feel free to add your own reviews, tips etc.

I like the addition of 17 achievements. Some appear to be very hard to unlock while other achievements should be achievable within just a couple hours of playing or less. I was able to unlock 3 achievements my first game.
As was pointed out to me earlier by one of of our steam group members, For Science, You Monster. You can get rid of the “bleeps” so you can hear ALL of the choice words used in the characters banter. Go to Settings, Gameplay settings and toggle “Strong Language” to On.

There are several Conversation settings. I tried a couple of different settings and my preference was “idle chit chat”. You have the ability to right mouse click and skip through portions or all of the in game chatter which is a great tool if you want to speed through hands. I found myself right clicking in between most hands unless Tycho was sharing some of his useless yet riveting informaton.

The voice actors did a great job IMO.
I would give the graphics: 4 out of 5 – The models were good and overall it was as good or better than I expected.

Overall I enjoyed Poker Night at the Inventory and would recommend it to friends. The price is less than 5 bucks and the potential for some cool TF2 items make it worth every penny.

Since this is my launch day review I reserve the right to change my mind in my future reviews!

Feelin’ Lucky?

We’re AMPED about the upcoming release of Poker Night at the Inventory. Not due to our crazy good poker skills but for the kick ass new items we can win not to mention the free visor which can be used by the heavy which you get for pre-ordering.

So in conjunction with our change over of all of our CSS servers to TF2 we thought it would be a great time to build up some goodwill among our TF2 gaming brethren. What better way then to gift Poker Night at the inventory each night to one or more of our steam community group members who are playuing on our servers!

So if you’re feelin’ a bit lucky then join our group. Not only will you have the chance to win Poker Night at the Inventory BUT you also have a chance to win other free gifts we give away randomly on our servers.

Cya in game!

As I mentioned in my previous post we launched a couple of new servers running the manor map. We did this due to our own frustrations trying to accumulate the 9 masks.
So what makes our servers different? The rules! We actually have some and if you don’t follow them it is a deal breaker.

Some other differences include:

• Gift timer – lets you know exactly when the gift will drop
• No killing 30 seconds before drop until it is found
• Achievements – there are plenty of people willing to help you get your achievements. Halloween and others.
• Admins and friends – There are constantly admins and friends on our servers. If there are no admins and there are “issues” an admin is just a chat message away

The 20 slot server is more of a free for all. It also has a gift timer but due to the number of slots it is a LOT harder to police. We used it for us and friends for a night but now the 20 slots make it too big for a gift farming server which is what we intended it to be.

Both of these servers will be staying up as well as the addition of another 4-6 over the next Month or so. Of course we won’t be running manor on these servers after the event. We will be looking to members to decide what maps our servers will be running so join here and tell us which maps you want!

Horseless Headless Horsemann and Gift Drops

The highly anticipated TF2 Halloween event kicked off with a bang. Literally!

Exploding pumpkins, candy, gifts and of course the Horseless Headless Horsemann make for some interesting game play to say the least.

The first few hours of game play had us completing as many of the new achievements as possible. Since we hadn’t changed our servers over to take advantage of the event we were playing on friends servers joining in on the battle with the Horsemann as well as the battle for gifts. With limited information and a lot of speculation it took a while to get the coveted Haunted Metal.

Once we all had the metal we found the gift hunting to be a bit of a grind. Our friends 30 slot server made it tough to even get a gift every couple of hours. We set 2 of our own servers to run the manor map and invited friends and used the list method to get our fill of masks. Our smaller 10 slot server took off and looks like it will stay full throughout the Halloween event. Yep, just checked and it’s full. I’m idling there in spec so no horsemann spawn and 9 players using the list method to keep things civil.

If you’re looking for masks or want to do some trading check out our 10 or 20 slot servers:

The Sniper
You don’t need to be in the middle of a fire fight to make a difference. Being a sniper means taking a more supportive role, staying out of the heat while still inflicting some heavy damage.

The sniper is originally from the outbacks of Australia, perfecting his aim by sniping both rocks and animals. He’s the most calculated soldier on the battlefield, always knowing when to pull the trigger and what targets to focus.

Playing a sniper isn’t the most heroic thing to do, but if you manage to excel in what you do, you’ll definitely become a valuable – even vital – part of your team. Many people argue that the sniper doesn’t require more than fast reflexes and a godlike aim, and even though that’s partially true, there are some fundamental things every sniper should know:

-Hold your fire. The longer you zoom in with the scope, the more damage you’ll do. Just monitoring the target for a few seconds might be worth it, as you’ll be able to deal more damage.
-As a contradiction, you shouldn’t be afraid to use no-scope either. This means that you won’t use the scope at all, and thus not getting any bonus damage. A direct hit will still do around 50 damage and it’s mostly suited for medium ranged combat. If you’re coming up close, use your submachine gun.
-Aim for the head. A headshot usually leads to a direct kill, especially if you’re charged up.

If you’ve played the sniper for quite some time, you already know the basic. If that’s the case, it’s time for you to take your sniping to the next level.

-Adjust your loadout (arsenal) depending on the map. At some maps you’ll be in dire need of a submachine gun, while on others a jarate (jar of pee) would be a better weapon. For instance, at Payload (cart map) you should use the jarate, as the opponents will most likely be swarming around the cart. You’ll be able to hit a number of opponents fairly easy and then reap the benefits of jarate (every shot does 35% more damage).
-Basically, jarate is mostly suited on maps with chokepoints.
-Remember that a red dot appears on anything that you’re trying to snipe, which potentially could give away your position.
-Whenever you kill an enemy they’ll get a freeze cam. With the cam they’ll be able to spot your position, so you’ll constantly need to be on the move.
-The sniper is very good at neutralizing buildings. Just snipe the engineer and then destroy his little toys – from a safe distance, of course.

We will be updating this page soon to include the new sniper weapons and gear!

Pyro is by far the most hated class in all of Team Fortress 2. He’s one of the games three offensive classes (with the others being scout and soldier), and can inflict some serious damage in just a few seconds.

No one really knows where the pyro comes from, as he covers his face with a mask and always mumbles – making it impossible to distinguish an accent or any ethnicity. Although we refer to the pyro as  “he” there is much debate about the true sex of the pyro.  All you really need to know is that he’s/she’s utterly crazy, equipped with a flamethrower that could burn you to ashes in a matter of seconds.

Oddly enough, he also carries around a fire axe. Yes, the same kind that firemen uses – you know, the people who try to fight fires, unlike the pyro who is all about setting them. On long-distance he makes use of an old fashion shotgun. Even though some might say that pyro is the simplest class in Team Fortress 2, he’s not all about running and shooting relentlessly. You know the drill by now: below are some of the bare basics of playing a pyro, which will hopefully help you in toasting the enemy:

-Only use your flamethrower in close range. Not only will you actually hit the target, but the closer you are, the more damage you’ll do.
-Be sneaky. I know it’s hard to actually disguise a screaming maniac who insists on torching everything, but your most effective weapon is the element of surprise. If you manage to flank the opponent and get close to him, you’ll easily out-maneuver both him and his teammates.
-Friendly fire is normally off, so don’t be afraid to waste some smoke on your friends. If you see someone who’s suspiciously sneaky, flame him. If he’s a spy he’ll start to burn – even though he’s wearing a disguise. The same goes for invisible spies.
-Don’t always chase your enemy. If your enemy is caught on fire, he’ll receive damage over time – meaning you might get kills several seconds after your attack.

If you’re looking to do more than just second degree burning, you’ll need – as with everything in life – a lot of practice. To make things easier for the more experienced players, here is some advice below:

-One of your main objectives as a pyro is to wreak as much havoc as possible. If you manage to ambush the opposing team, try to hit multiple targets and then pull back. If done properly, you’ll be able to burn several opponents – who will keep burning after your attack – and still be alive.
-Your flamethrower is big. A great tactic is to hide behind corners and ambush the opponents, but remember that your weapon is quite massive in size – and might give away your position. Simply don’t point it in the wrong direction.
-In most situations you will be hunting the opponent, not the other way around. Remember that when running forward, your flamethrower won’t have a very long range. If you stop you’ll have a greater range and if you run backwards you’ll have the biggest range possible with the flamethrower. So if you know that someone is lurking around the corner – perhaps a pack of enemies – remember to halt before facing the enemies.
-If the scout is wielding a sandman, he has the ability to stun his opponents by hitting them with baseballs. If you use your second ability with the flamethrower – which is air blast – you can actually stop the baseball mid-air, making the sandman useless. The same thing can be done if you’re facing a sniper with a bow – simply air blast his arrows and you’ll never have to worry about any virtual Robin Hoods making your life miserable.

The pyro is a critical defender when protecting the point against Uber charged enemies. Using the air blast will knock the ubers back and if done properly can render their uber useless.

Weapon Tactics

The pyro is primarily a close range fighter however the shotgun and the flare gun give him err her the ability to do damage from afar. With that said don’t sit back and defend your point with a flare gun as it will only take out an enemy who has already sustained a fair amount of damage. The shotgun is not accurate enough to do much damage from far away either.

The Backburner – I play the pyro A LOT and 85% of the time I use the standard flamethrower simply because of the compression blast which is extremely handy especially on point capture blocks. With that said there is a place and time for the backburner.

The backburner does more damage than the standard flamethrower and does critical damage from behind. If you are more of a stealth player than this will be your better load out choice.

Shotgun vs. Flare Gun – This is more of a personal preference load out selection. Both are primarily used when you are out of range with the flamethrower/back burner. The flare gun does a small amount of damage and the shotgun, when relatively close to a target does a little more than the flare gun.

Regardless of which you have equipped you can unleash a “Hadouken” on your enemies which is one of the better attack taunts in the game.

Fire Axe vs. Axstinguisher vs. Homewrecker – If you like axes the Axstinguisher is a great choice! It does critical damage on a burning opponent. This is a great feature when you are behind a heavy. Quickly light him up then switch to the Axstinguisher and finish him off!If your opponent is not already on fire the Axstinguisher does 505 of the damage of the fire axe.

With that said I am still a big fan of the Homewrecker. I like destroying buildings and the homewrecker is the perfect tool for just that. Another benefit is it’s ability to destroy enemy sappers in one hit. It deals 25% less damage to an enemy than the fire axe.

He’s from Boston, runs extremely fast and loves to mock his opponents. The scout is one of the most popular classes in the game, especially suited for capping points and deploying hit-and-run tactics.

The scout has a rather dull armory, though it should definitely not be underestimated. His strength doesn’t lie in his choice of weapons but in his special abilities. Needless to say, he’s the fastest class in the game an and the only one who can  ”double jump”.
The ability is rather self-explanatory, and basically gives you the power to jump twice. It can be used to reach greater heights, or simply to change the direction in the middle of a jump to avoid being shot. Furthermore, he’s able to capture points twice as fast as any other class, which makes him a vital part of any push.

The scout is able to wield three different weapons: a baseball bat, a scatter gun and a pistol. None of them require any further explanation, so instead I’ll head straight for some basic tips and advice to all the novice scouts out there:

- If you’re caught up in a fire-fight, you should constantly be on the run. The scout hasn’t much health and is easily killed if standing still, but the opponents will have a much harder time killing you if you’re a moving target.
For instance, if you’re facing a heavy you could jump constantly right past him while filling his body full of lead.
- If you’re close to the opponent, use the scatter gun. If not, fire a few rounds with your pistol. Always aim at the center of your opponent – your spray will do more damage as you’ll hit a bigger part of the hit box.
- Flanking is key. Learn your way around the most popular maps; how to get from point A to B and so forth. You should focus on getting across the map without being noticed – that way you can actually flank the opponent and strike them from behind.

Now you know the basics, but you’re still not prepared for any competitive play. Below you’ll find even more tips on how to improve your game, though it’s most suited for the more experienced scouts:

-Target demos, medics and snipers. All three are low on health and bad in close combat, making them easy targets. Pyros are also fairly easy to defeat, as long as you keep your distance and use the pistol.
-The scout is primarily a capper. Your primary job should be to capture points, and thus allowing more important and heavy troops to advance in the battlefield.
- Sentries are fairly easy to destroy. If it’s in a corner, just jump in, shoot it, and jump back again. This way, you’ll dodge all of the bullets while inflicting a lot of damage.
- You could also indulge in some devious anti-capping, by camping at points to ensure that the enemy can’t take control of it. This tactic requires that you know your way around the map, as you’ll need a steady stream of health packs to stay alive.

PC:

The Orange Box delivers five innovative action games from Valve – creators of the blockbuster Half Life franchise, in one box.

The Orange Box includes Half Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2 in addition to full versions of award winning Half Life 2 and Half Life 2: Episode One for an engrossing first-person action experience.

Half Life 2: by taking the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original, and adding startling new realism and responsiveness, Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player’s presence affects everything around him, from the physical environment to the behaviors, and even emotions, of both friends and enemies.

Half Life 2: Episode One is the first in a series of new adventures created by Valve that extends the Half-Life 2 single player experience.

Half-Life 2: Episode Two is the second in a trilogy of new games created by Valve that extends the award-winning and best-selling Half-Life adventure.

Portal is a new single player game from Valve. Set in the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories, Portal has been called one of the most innovative new games on the horizon and will offer gamers hours of unique gameplay.

Team Fortress 2 (TF2) is the sequel to the game that put class-based, multiplayer team warfare on the map. The most anticipated online action game, TF2 delivers new gametypes, a signature art style powered by Valve’s next generation animation technology, persistent player statistics, and more.

Xbox 360:

The Orange Box is the ultimate collection of innovative action games for the PC, and an amazing introduction to the Half-Life series for PC gamers.

Half-Life 2: Episode Two takes you deeper into one of the best-known stories in gaming, following the desperate struggle of Gordon Freeman against the mysterious Combine. In this episode, you must leave the confines of City 17 for the first time and face even greater dangers beyond the city walls.

Portal delivers an innovative new action gaming experience. Arming you with a portal gun that lets you create portals from one location to another with the press of a button, Portal will forever change the way that you interact with your environment.

Team Fortress 2 is the sequel to granddaddy of role-based multiplayer action games. Featuring nine distinct roles – Heavy, Spy, Scout, Demoman, Engineer, Medic, Sniper, Soldier, and Pyro – Team Fortress 2 is one of the most anticipated multiplayer games for any platform.

* Five games, one box
* Epic storyline
* Redefining action
* World-class multiplayer

Playing the Spy in TF2

France is often belittled because of their military history. In the Second World War, their army was quickly defeated by the Germans – and thus perceived as both weak and cowardice.

Some would say the same thing about the Spy, but in an attempt to not spite any French readers out there, I’d rather call him clever and adaptable. Just like the French resistance – famous for their many successful bombings – he uses the environment to cover his tracks, while maintaining a certain level of class.

The Spy has a wide array of toys at his disposal, as any self-respecting spy would. His most trusted weapon is a simple knife. In an era with machine guns, flame throwers and snipers this is quite an unorthodox weapon, but despite its simplicity, it’s one of the most effective.

First, it’s the only weapon that can kill an enemy in one swing. By sneaking behind the enemy and sticking the knife in his back, you can secure both vital points and create a commotion in the enemy encampments.

If he manages to infiltrate the enemy base the zapper might come in handy. With this device the spy can destroy enemy engineer buildings. To actually get inside the base, his invisibility watch is a convenient little gadget. If you’re feeling extra ballsy, you might even use his make-up kit and disguise as one of the opponents.

Even though the spy has a lot of cards up his sleeve, using them right can be a real hassle. In order to improve, you’ll need proper guidance. Below you’ll find a few pointers hopefully steering you in the right direction:

- Your main target is the engineer. He’ll be held up in a corner somewhere, working on setting up both sentries and teleporters. It might be tempting to destroy these support-structures, but you should never zap them when the engineer is still alive. Always, and I mean always kill the engineer first. This prevents him from fixing the zapped target, and keeps you alive a lot longer.

For best results kill the engineer then quickly zap the sentry. It will take practice, and you’ll most likely be killed the first few times.
- Think like your enemy. If you’re disguised as a pyro but keep standing behind an enemy sniper, he’ll realize that you don’t want to just cuddle. Playing a spy doesn’t call for a Broadway-performance, but it does require more thinking than most classes.
Stay away from the pyro. He’s your worst nightmare, as his flame-thrower sets you on fire – rendering your invisibility/disguise useless.

If you already know all the basic principles of playing the spy,  here are some additional techniques.
- If you’re discovered – and trust me, you will be discovered – try finding some stairs. If the opponent chases after you, turn around quickly and jump right over them. While doing this, you might be able to stab him in the back and thus ending the chase.
- Never use the knife in close-combat unless you’re backstabbing the opponent. It’s utterly useless and your pistol will do much more damage.
- When you’re disguised you can see how much health an enemy has. If his life is already on a string, fire a shot or two to finish him off.
- If you’ve unlocked the ambassador (gun), you’ll be able to do a lot more than just stabbing and zapping. If you spot an engineer with a sentry, keep yourself at a distance and make sure the sentry can’t shoot you. With the full strength of the ambassador, plus the bonus damage from a head shot, you’ll be able to snipe the engineer from a safe location. Furthermore, the ambassador is great when facing a sniper with the razorback-shield (a shield which really makes stabbing a no-no).

Overall playing the spy takes a lot of practice but when you get it down to a science you will net TONS of kills!